Dear Sam,

Apologies for the delay in responding. Your email has been passed on to me as I am the curator responsible for the Early Mesopotamia collections.
Since the time when the plaque was first published in 1936 there has been debate about the identity of the goddess. There are iconographic differences or discrepancies and reasons why it is currently not possible to be certain which goddess The Burney Relief / The Queen of the Night might represent.

There are three main contenders - Lilith, Ishtar and Ereshkigal.
For the most thorough discussion on the Queen of the Night the best source is a small booklet in the 'British Museum in Focus' series - The Queen of the Night by Dominique Collon (BMP 2005). Dr Collon discusses the Queen of the Night in regard to these 3 goddesses, comparing other images of these goddesses and the iconography associated with them, or texts relating to them with the Queen. She does include a discussion of Jacobsen's interpretation and why there are problems with this interpretation. For example - Ishtar is associated with one lion not two, owls are not known as an attribute of Ishtar, the weapon attributes normally associated with Ishtar are absent on the Queen of the Night relief. I suggest that if you can, you obtain a copy of Dr Collon's booklet or have a look in one (perhaps in the bookshop, the next time you are in the BM).

Best wishes,
Sarah Collins

Middle East dept.
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B  3DG